So... there are still some good nickel corners available.

Charles Woodson and Antoine Winfield are still free agents. Anyone think we pursue them? I personally would love to sign Winfield and have him compete with a drafted nickel corner.

Baldwin doesn't think much of Winfield.

I suspect Woodson is looking for too much money.

Winfield is a tackling machine, and a former Viking

Draft Tyrann. Problem solved for years.
Assuming character issues dont happen.

Draft someone. Don't need to try and fix everything in FA

I'd love to see us bring in Winfield on a cheap 1 yr deal or 2 maybe

Winfield is super old (36?), isn't he almost 2 years older than woodson

Winfield is a physical presence and played nickle really well last year.

Fact- Winfield didnt give up a touchdown in 2012. Vikings HC wants him back but not for the 7m he was due, If he resigns anywhere for cheap expect that to be in Minn.

On one hand I'd say just address it in the draft, and for now that seems the best strategy. That said, the reality seems that we are in position for a Super Bowl run. I think either Woodson or Winfield would be an upgrade at a position that absolutely killed us last year, so with the Super Bowl in mind, why not bring one in if the draft doesn't pan out?

And did somebody pick up Asante Samuel? He's a pretty solid nickle CB as well.

Winfield seems too perfect to be true.

ivotuk":1n1hojj1 said:

Winfield is a tackling machine, and a former Viking

Click to expand...

Winfield can't cover anymore, if we want a solid tackler we could keep Trufant. We want someone with quickness to cover slot guys.

Health is still a bit of a question mark, but I am totally comfortable going into the season with Thurmond as nickel corner.

He has had a tough time staying on the field, but if he can put his ouchies behind him, he is a hell of a talented corner.
I also expect more improvement from Lane this year. Tru held the nickel spot mainly due to his experience and Walter needing to heal, but with a year under their belts, I expect to see our young secondary players contributing much more.

Draft someone, coach him up and hope Thurmond can stay healthy, too.

I still think that Jeremy Lane is going to be a great presence in the slot this season, a massive upgrade over Tru. Having said that, I'd still draft another CB to add to the mix. A nice little competition between Lane, Thurmond III, and a draftee for the Nickel CB spot. It'd be excellent if one of them could step up and shut down the slot like Casey Hayward did as a rookie for the Packers this season. Because of his quickness, speed, and ability to get physical, I like Lane for the job.

Nickel corner is one of the hardest positions to fill because that player will get beat time and time again. Nobody gets an angle on Welker, Gonzalez etc. Those are the types of players you come up against. There's no obvious solution here because the position is such a thankless task.

Name five great nickel corners, currently employed by a team. I'm struggling to name one.

This is an area you have to combat by being creative with your play calling, press the QB and survive. You can't stop guys like Welker getting their catches.

As for Tyrann Mathieu... I'll bet anything he plays free safety and not nickel corner.

theENGLISHseahawk":y6aym7t0 said:

Nickel corner is one of the hardest positions to fill because that player will get beat time and time again. Nobody gets an angle on Welker, Gonzalez etc. Those are the types of players you come up against. There's no obvious solution here because the position is such a thankless task.

Name five great nickel corners, currently employed by a team. I'm struggling to name one.

This is an area you have to combat by being creative with your play calling, press the QB and survive. You can't stop guys like Welker getting their catches.

As for Tyrann Mathieu... I'll bet anything he plays free safety and not nickel corner.

Click to expand...

Well, there's Casey Hayward in Green Bay for starters. He probably had the best season in the slot last year, plus he was a rookie. And if you change your criteria from "currently employed by a team" to "currently in the league" there's Charles Woodson, Antoine Winfield. There's also Chris Harris in Denver who's a pretty solid nickel, and my personal favorite Javier Arenas from KC.

Overall though, I agree with what you're saying about needing to be creative in order to stop a good slot receiver. Another key is limiting the YAC. A guy like Welker, like you said, will always get his catches. It's making sure you have sure tackling and punishing him every time he touches the rock that will help contain him.

Draft Darius Slay!

Leon Sandcastle is the man.... seriously though, is thurmond going to be healthy going into the season.. if so, draft a slot corner....we still have Lane as well...

I prefer Lane outside rather than at Nickle. IMO he take Browner's spot in the next year or two.

Been a big an of III but we can't count on him now. Bring in comp via draft . .

But if Winfield is available for under a million, why not?